HENRY COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – A North Carolina man has been arrested by the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, which is referring to him as a child sexual predator.
Richard Herman Albers, 63, is charged with four counts of using communications systems to solicit a juvenile and two counts of attempted production of child pornography.
January 4, 2024, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigative unit began an undercover chat operation, according to the sheriff’s office. During the operation, an investigator came into contact with Albers on an online forum. Albers communicated with the investigator on online platforms for many weeks, according to Sheriff Wayne Davis.
During the communication between Albers and the investigator, Albers sent lewd and sexual messages to the investigators, whom Albers believed was a 13-year-old child, according to Sheriff Davis, who says Albers was trying to arrange a sexual encounter with the child.
March 14, 2024, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office went to Forsyth County, North Carolina. With the help of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, a search warrant was executed at Albers’ home and he was taken into custody
Albers is in custody of the Forsyth County Detention Center without bond. He will be extradited to Henry County, according to the sheriff’s office.
A statement from Sheriff Davis reads:
The Henry County Sheriff’s Office takes the safety of children very seriously. This specialized unit will continue to aggressively pursue sexual predators and conduct these styles of operations to ensure that we provide the safest environment and community we can for our youth.
We also ask the community to speak to their children about social media platforms and the potential dangers they could pose.
Sheriff Wayne Davis and the Henry County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office for their dedication to ensuring our children are safe and their continued assistance in this operation.
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